Michael Fier was playing a late night football game in 2009 at the humongous Sam Barlow High School. He was a tall and skinny wide receiver on the left side, he was open. The ball was passed and then the ball was caught! Michael Fier was at the 20 yard line, 15, 10, BOOM!(Concussion Legacy Foundation) Michael had been knocked unconscious. He got knocked right in the head, the result was a severe concussion. This wasn’t his first concussion, it was just byfar the worst one. Michel has gotten 7 other small concussions. A week later, doctors also found that Michael had gotten C.T.E[A brain injury caused by multiple concussions or hard hits to the head(C.T.E Center- What is C.T.E)]. He just screamed,”WHAT, a concussion now this?!”(Concussion Legacy Foundation) “Don’t worry Michael we’ll get through this”his mom said. “The only way for you to heal C.T.E is to get surgery for $62,000,” the doctor explained.(C.T.E Center- What is C.T.E) …show more content…
“No, this is the only way’’ the doctor said emotionally.(Concussion Legacy Foundation) By then Michael was kicking chairs and almost breaking into tears, he was extremely depressed. This meant he could never play football again, he loved it too much to give it up but he might have to. Michael couldn’t stop thinking about how he couldn’t play football. He just wanted to get back on the field and catch the ball and forget about everything, he wanted to play the game, forget about everything, and stay in that intense moment when the balls hurtling towards you and you could be the one to score for your team. He also thought that they might not be able to pay for the surgery(Concussion Legacy Foundation) It’s eight months later, and Michael’s mother had just gotten a cheap, inexpensive paycheck, and they finally had enough money for Michael’s badly needed $62,000 surgery. They were both so excited and relieved. Michael got his surgery 26 days later.(Concussion Legacy
This damage is called chronic traumatic encephalopathy and it occurs when individuals suffer from many concussions or any other form of head injury. This damage has a lasting affect and can cause people to die at an earlier age then which they should. The life expectancy goes down for people with chronic
A committee was created by the NFL called MTBI, which stands for mild traumatic brain injury, which was led by the New York Jets team doctor who believed brain injuries were not a serious problem. In the episode, a doctor by the name of Omalu was interviewed. After studying the brain of a professional football player, named Michael Webster, he believed he saw physical evidence of the long-term damage playing football could have on the brain. This physical evidence was concluded to be CTE. CTE stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Al Toon, father of Saints receiver Nick Toon, was forced to leave professional football after sustaining nine concussions in eight years of professional football. Football is one of the most dangerous games. As the years go on, more and more rules are being written to prevent the danger, but danger is the nature of the game. Most of these rules are for the protection of the players, but there are times when injuries can be a good thing. The Philadelphia Eagles were 3-5 to start the year, but Michael Vick was injured and the backup quarterback led the team to be 10-6, win the division, and almost beat the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs. "About 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year, about three-quarters of them mild TBIs, or concussions" (Clemmitt). Traumatic Brain Injuries are used as the main form of evidence in Richard Cohen's claim that the end of the NFL is near, and quite frankly, his argument is pretty solid.
Kremer, Andrea. "Health of the Game: Brain Injuries beyond Concussions 0." NFL.com. N.p., 7 Mar. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. (Online Video)
Mr. Webster would even ask to be tased because he could not fall asleep. Eventually, Mr. Webster became homeless and medications did not help him function. In the year 2000, Mike Webster issued a lawsuit to the NFL stating that football caused his head trauma, dementia, brain damage, and cognitive issues. During this lawsuit, the NFL denied all allegations and in 2002, Mike Webster died.
Emmert, Mark. “Concussions put football at a crossroads.” Portland Press Herald (ME) 6 April 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 7 April 2014.
A. Background In recent years, there has been an increase in research investigating the long-term effects of repeated head trauma on the brain, especially in athletes. Following his discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Dr. Bennet Omalu inspired a movement of research aimed at establishing better safety standards and protocols in football. It was not until 2002 that the initial connection between repetitive head trauma, such as concussions, and brain injury was suspected (Ott, 2015). As common as concussions were during the late 1970s and 1980s, they were often swept under the rug, as they were seen as insignificant injuries.
Throughout the years, many sports have evolved from that of their beginning. Be it through rule changes, advances in the way people watch the game, advances in how they play the game, but this biggest one of all is the change in equipment. This is most commonly seen and heard about in American football. Due to all of the advances in the medical field and seeing the sports injuries that occur. Football had to adapt and change to the new standards of safety for the players with new and improved equipment to lessen the chance of long term damage.
The number of concussions in professional and amateur football has been rising and has sparked much controversy in recent years. These concussions are most likely linked with disease and even the deaths of some pro and semi-pro football players. New research is attempting to solve the problem but the issue is still prevalent in football today.
One of the earliest players to bring awareness to brain traumas was Mike Webster, a former Pittsburgh Steeler. In April of 1999, he claimed to be disabled with the NFL Retirement Board. He also had dementia which was a result of the brutal hits he endured during his football career. Webster ran into many problems at the e...
While doing research on how concussions affected the brain, they came upon SIS. SIS raised concern in the sports community, they found that they need to be more cautious with the care and d management of athletes the suffered head injuries. '" occurs when an athlete who has sustained an initial head injury, most often a concussions, then sustains a second head injury before symptoms associated with the first have fully healed (Cantu and Voy 1995).'" Michael Bay was a athlete that got a concussions, shortly after he was hit again while being in practice. Mr. Bay die in a deep coma, after the medical examiner perform the autopsy it was found that Michael cause of death was a massive cerebral edema ( a cerebral edema is "the accumulation of fluid in and resultant swelling of the brain that may be caused by trauma, a tumor, lack of oxygen at high altitudes, or exposure to toxic substances." MedlinePlus). The next one is the intracranial injury, there are four major types of intracranial injuries: epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, intracranial hematoma, and cerebral contusion. The epidural hematoma is a bleeding that develops between the dura and the cranial bones. Subdural hematoma is also a bleed, but it develops below the dura mater. The intracranial hematoma is a bleed that happens within the brain tissue. And the last one the cerebral contusion is
The number of children below the age of 19 are treated in American emergency rooms for concussions and other traumatic brain injuries increased from 150,000 in 2001 to 250,000 in 2009. That’s not cumulative, that is actually per year. Everyone should know how and when to treat a concussion, no matter if it is for sports or in general. Concussions can come from anything. Concussions can be an easily preventable injury, however due to poor equipment, a competitive mindset, unrecognizable symptoms, and untrained sports physicians, they are becoming quite common and can lead to potentially fatal brain disorders.
Michael’s life began in Brooklyn, New York, on February 17th, 1963, where his parents James and Delores always stood by his side. His father, known for his unending support, always gave Michael advice on what to do, never letting him down. His mother made sure Michael headed in the right direction with everything he did. As a child he enjoyed athletics, engaging in basketball, baseball and football. He practiced baseball with his dad, persistently playing catch whenever time allowed. Baseball was his favorite. Even at a young age he had already tasted success by being voted Most Valuable Player on his team. “That was the first big accomplishment in my life,” Michael recalled (Harris, Laurie).
According to the first article, Heads Up: Concussions in High School Sports, "Failure to properly manage concussions may lead to long-term cumulative consequences." Some long lasting effects of a concussion include behavior changes, mood disturbances, and cognitive difficulties. (Concussions: Potential Causes and Long-Term Impacts) New research suggests that people can experience effects for 30 years or longer. Many student athletes are striving to get scholarships for sports, they may want to get back onto the field before it is safe for them to play. They may think that not getting a scholarship to their dream school is disappointing, but for the health and well-being of the student athlete, it is better for them to be cleared by a medical
Struggling to maintain consciousness as well as retain my vision after embracing a brutal hit enforced from an opposing player really makes me question the seriousness of football related trauma. How many injuries does it take until it really matters? For me, after having experience with concussions, I came to the realization that the positive externalities of football do not make up for the numerous negative externalities. Football, as well as any other contact sport, can be very dangerous and potentially threatening to a persons overall health and future.